Capacity extension plans for TVO-KPA-Store in Finland

The last clarification of the decision to extend the spent fuel storage capacity at Olkiluoto (KPA-store) was made in February 2002. Since then the decision was made to construct a new plant unit in Olkiluoto (OL3), which is planned to start its operation in year 2009. OL3 will be an European Pressurized Water Reactor (EPR) design with a net power of 1600 MWe and an expected life time of 60 years. Also, the lifetime of the first and second Olkiluoto units (OL1 and OL2) has been extended to 60 years. Also the spent fuel from OL3 plant is planned to be stored in the KPA-store extension part. Spent fuel disposal will start in 2020 at Olkiluoto. However, the storage capacity need will increase since the second Olkiluoto plant unit will be permanently shut down in 2040. It looks reasonable to extend the KPA-store with four additional pools. Three pools would be provided with fuel racks for OL3 spent fuel. The fourth extension pool would be reserved for emergency unload purposes. The investment costs for the KPA-store extension are about 29 Million Euros with the dense fuel racks included. The storage extension should be available in year 2012. (author)